Throughout a series of short sequences, the themes tackled are not just those dear to Smits (sexuality, gender issues, gay marriage and its detractors), but also others that can be found in news-headlines and which touch upon global warming, consumer society and the rise of reactionary tendencies.

A disconcerting and fast-paced performance, Cock-tails ushers us into a subversive universe that knows virtually no limits, especially in how the dancers’ bodies are used to express extreme situations where humour is used to convey scenes with cabaret’s quintessential trashy, kitschy and excessive vocabulary. The performing artists masterful interpretations at once remind us, however, that we have been invited into a world where performances have been carefully and rigorously crafted in order to lampoon our societies and their aberrations.